to see EXIT STRATEGY

On March 25th, I went to see a play called EXIT STRATEGY, a play directed by Rachel Sledd Iannantuoni, and written by Ike Holter.  The show played at the Loop Player at Harold Washington College and it is DEFINITELY not for kids. On the front of the program, the summary is stated like this: The teachers of Tumbldn High School bring mousetraps from home, they make the toilet paper last, and they show up for the kids nobody else shows up for.SO when the school is slated for closure at the end of the year, and the weight of the inevitable bears down on the community, students and teachers alike discover their breaking points.

 The first scene is in Ricky, (Nick Page) the vice principal talking to Pam, (Abigail Bomher) about the school closing. Pam isn't surprised, and they get into an argument about life and school, and Pam says that the school is all she has ever had, and she loves it more than anything. She tries to teach the school anthem, and stops. She then proceeds to shoot herself.

 The next scene is based a month later, when the school is about to start, set in the teacher’s lounge. Only one teacher is in there, and that teacher is Arnold, (Marcus Saenez) the nerdy serious one. He is getting his coffee, when in walks Luce, (Alexis A. Tornez Martinez) another teacher. He is pretty funny. He kept trying to get Arnold to do a secret handshake-thing, and Arnold said no, and the second Arnold was like, “ok fine” Luce was like, “ya know what? never mind.” and that was kinda funny. And then in walks ANOTHER teacher, this teacher is Sadie, (Brittany Yvonne Stokes) and she walks in with stuff from ALDI. Yeah, there's a bunch of school stuff but also juice boxes, which is kinda funny because Luce is like, “NO WAY, JUICE BOXES???? WHAT FLAVORS???” And Arnold is practicing telling the students that the school is closing, when IN WALKS ANOTHER TEACHER, and this one is named Jania, (Lexi Acosta) who is kind of intimidating and talkative. She is complaining about a gang, and people make fun of her broken car. 

As the play continues, we find out a student named Donnie, (Robert Mosby Jr.) hacked into the school website and posted a link to help get the school to be saved. But Ricky decides not to suspend Donnie after a moving and difficult conversation about Donnie’s life. He then instead, recruits Donnie to the staff. 

Fast-Forward to spring, where Ricky and Donnie have hatched a plan. And also this was one of my favorite parts, all the teachers are in the lounge, and Sadie says “Hey, do you guys hear that?” And Donnie walks in with a boom-box playing Gangsta’s Paradise, along with Ricky, to talk about the plan. The plan is to parade north, where rich people are. Then, they will get more money to save the school! And everyone except Arnold thinks this is a good idea, so Ricky says “whoever wants to stay with Arnold go but join me and good stuff will happen!” Then everyone goes with Ricky.

Arnold is alone in the teacher’s lounge about to call the city to tell them about the plan, until PLOT TWIST ghost Pam walks in and reminds him that he did that sort of thing a while ago. Then he decides to let it go. 

Fast-Forward, the march happened, and now there’s news channels talking about them and stuff, and Donnie was watching it on FOX, and the teacher’s were like, “WE TAUGHT YOU BETTER THAN THAT! FOX, Donnie, Really FOX?!!!” and that was funny.

But then when Arnold and Ricky are alone, Arnold tells Ricky the bad news. Their plan didn’t work and the school was getting torn down. I think this was a really sad scene, because they did all the stuff for nothing. Then, it is the day of tearing down the school. They sing the tigers song, which goes like this:

Tigers hear us

Tigers fear us

Tigers Tigers We’re true blue

Tigers hear us

Don’t come near us

Tigers- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  BOOOM CRASH SMASH RUMBLE BOOOOOOOM and the school is destroyed the end. Boom the end. :( 

(Mom says I can give spoilers because the play closed on Saturday)

I really liked the play because it was very dramatic and it had many mixed emotions in  my head, like sad, funny, excited, and WHOA THERE LITTLE TIMMY! Which, by the way, is when there's inappropriate talk and cuss words.

I recommend this play to mature  people at least 13 but I'm very mature so I saw it. I give this play 4 and 99,999/100,0000  coffee mugs out of 5! Because teachers drink a lot of coffee, like whoa. 

 (And by the way I did go easy on you didn't I? I KNOW YOU’RE WATCHING I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE ok just kidding about that last part.) 

 

to see Wake Up, Brother Bear!

On January 25th, me, mama and Margot went to see 'Wake Up, Brother Bear!' by Janet Stanford and Kathryn Chase Bryar, directed by Jamie Abelson at the Chicago Children's Theatre Company.

It was about 2 bears named Brother Bear and Sister Bear (performed by Jonah Winston and Allyce Torres) living their lives throughout the seasons. Each kid was given a bag filled with objects that they would take out at different moments during the play to interact with the characters and to better understand the season. 

The bears had us kids on our feet from the very beginning because Sister Bear needed help finding brother bear who was hiding under a giant pile of small blankets and she was too scared to look all by herself. And once she discovered Brother Bear together they taught us how to fold the blanket we removed. And from that moment on we learned something new with each object we got to touch. 

The bears both really looked like bears thanks to the unique costume design by Sully Ratke. All three bears (did I forget to mention Musician Bear played by Sonia Goldberg?) had a unique bear hat that fit their personality. Each bear had a suit that gave them a bearly shape with fur and a tail. Something interesting about the Bears is that Sister Bear was the only Bear who knew human English. Brother Bear communicated with grunts and sign language which Sister Bear translated for us, most of the time. It was pretty cool too because she was sort of teaching us how to sign when she would repeat the words he was saying and do the sign that goes along with it. Though Brother Bear was able to say one word, and it was pretty funny, I don't want give the whole moment away but I will tell you the one word he knows how to say is "Packers" which is pretty funny because he's a BEAR but is clearly a Packers Fan! Hahaha!

My favorite interactive moment of the play was when we got to take out the LED fireflies in our bags and light up the night which was really pretty it really felt like I was outside at night surrounded by real stars or fireflies in the middle of summer. And then we got to put our fireflies in the moon and hang it up and it was so beautiful. My favorite moment in watching the Bears was when they dreamed they were ice skating bears competing at the Olympics or something. They were really good at skating without skates or ice!

The show started with the bears waking up from hibernation and ended with them going back to hibernation. But something special happened at the end. Sister Bear fell asleep and Brother Bear realized that he accidentally took the blanket  away from her and she was cold and shivering in her sleep, so he took the blanket off himself and gave it to her and went to sleep without one. His kindness to Sister Bear inspired me to put my blanket on Brother Bear and then something magical happened all the other little kids in the audience did the same and soon Brother Bear wasn't shivering anymore he was cozy and warm and ready for a long winters nap. 

Even though this was more of a little kid play than a big kid show (and by little kid I mean like six and under) and even though I was clearly the oldest kid there, still as a nine year old, I still enjoyed myself.  There were three takeaways from this play: 1. I learned a lot about the Seasons 2. Even though Brother Bear couldn't speak human English everyone treated him and loved him the same as Sister Bear and 3. Kindness and sharing feels good like a warm blanket. 

I think every kid in Chicago six and under should come see this play because it has great education and it is fun for all children at this age. And if you're my age and have a younger sibling you should see this play because you can enjoy yourself and help your sibling with some of the interactive parts. 

I give this play 2 paws up and 1 Gazillion points beclaws it's a BEARY GOOD PLAY!

PHOTO Credits: Charles Osgood

Wake Up, Brother Bear! at Chicago Children's Theatre, 100 S. Racine Ave., Chicago (at Monroe) playing now until March 1st, 2020.

( P.S. Brother Bear took a packers hat and put it on a little stuffed bear and said "packers!")

to See The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party

On Saturday morning I went to go see The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party at the Chicago Children’s Theatre with mama and Margot. The four stories were directed by Will Bishop and devised by Lara Carling, Kay Kron, Grace Needlman and Ray Rehberg. The play had four different stories put together and performed by three actors (Ray Rehberg, Kay Kron and Lara Carling) and they were The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse, The Tailor of Gloucester, The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher and the Tale of Peter Rabbit. 

All four stories were told with just three actors who told the tales through lots of wooden puppets, big movie boxes, live music, small projections and songs. The first story was about a mouse called Mrs. Tittlemouse who was preparing for her Holiday Party. Mrs. Tittlemouse had to deal with the mess of bugs from the cellar and Mr.Jackson the toad, because they made a mess of everything and although she tried to clean it, it was still messy when she went to bed the night before the party. So the actors told the AUDIENCE to clean the house with cleaning exercises like pretend sweeping, dusting, brushing, and other stuff like that. So when Mrs. Tittlemouse woke up the next morning, she was going to clean more (Like, a lot), but then she noticed that not only her house was clean, it was all ready for the party! Her friends arrived and the party worked out just fine, because we, the audience, helped!

All of the stories had the audience involved in some way. The puppets were all so clever I was wondering how they made them, some of the puppets worked like mechanics. The set (designed by Grace Needlman) was made of boxes and handles and lights and fabric.

The second play was called the Tailor of Gloucester, who had A cat named Simpkin who wanted to eat lots of mice and was a trouble maker. One time the tailor opened the cupboard with all of the mice in it and Simpkin was MAD, so he hid the yarn that he bought. Simpkin may have been naughty but he learns his lesson in the end. 

The third play was called The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher.  Mr. Jeremy Fisher was a frog, who couldn’t catch a fish. Many bad things happen to him but he does eventually catch some fish…just wait and see those puppets!! The last story was a popular one, called the Tale of Peter Rabbit, the famous naughty rabbit with a waistcoat and a love of Mr. McGreggor’s carrots. I should know, I was Peter Rabbit for Halloween one year and my sister was Mr. McGreggor’s carrot and she was the cutest carrot in the whole wide dimension (I’ll attach a picture to prove it). 

One of the coolest parts was the live music played by one actor (Ray Rehberg) who played an electric violin (I play violin too), an electric mandolin, and a toy piano. The electric instruments were hooked up to a foot pedal and whenever he played something it recorded and then could repeat so he could play a new line on top of what he already played. Without the music the plays wouldn’t have been as entertaining, the music told us how to feel and Mr. Rehberg is incredibly talented I only hope I can play the violin like him someday. He let me play his electric violin after the show and it was so heavy!

After the show there was a part where we could all go up on stage and touch the puppets and try them out and see how they moved which was really fun. And after the play there was chocolate party in the lobby, hot chocolate, chocolate pretzels and chocolate cookies, chocolate coins and chocolate kisses. How cool to see a show and have an actual chocolate party afterwards? 

I would give this play 1 MILLION points because I think that little kids (mostly ages 1-5) would really enjoy it because they will be really entertained by something you don’t see everyday and they get to be a part of it too! Also, they get to end the experience with a lot of sugar…and who doesn’t want that?!!!!

Love, GUNNAR

I TOLD YOU SHE WAS THE CUTEST CARROT!

to see Beauty and the Beast at Paramount

On Saturday afternoon me,  Mama and Margot went to see Beauty and the Beast at Paramount Theatre, Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, Book by Linda Woolverton, directed by Amber Mak.

The first thing I noticed was this theatre was gigantic, much bigger than a lot of the theaters that I've been to. The next thing I noticed was that the scenery walls were made of ginormous books that seemed to be a hundred feet tall.  I really liked this choice by scenic designer Jeffrey D. Kmeic because it show's Belle's love of books before the play even begins and it also reminds me that this play is based on a book that most people love. I also noticed that when the set pieces moved to create a new scene it moved so smoothly into a new shape and the background changed to create a beautiful picture and it wasn't until Act II that I realized the back wall was projections, it just all blended together so beautifully. I also loved that things fell from the sky like a duck, confetti, petals and a bunch of other stuff and it made me curious as to how it all happened at the exact right time, it felt like magic.

The play was quite different from the animated and live action movies I've seen because they spoke different lines and sang some different songs. It's interesting that all three versions of this Disney story have different songs. I wouldn't say that I prefer one over the other.  I really liked the new songs I heard in the musical and I really liked hearing new lines and seeing new things because it made me feel like I was hearing or seeing the story for the first time and I didn't know what to expect. I really liked Gaston's song "ME" which isn't in the movies, it just was so silly that he was singing about all these things that Belle obviously didn't want. I would say that this musical looked more like the live action movie than the animated movie, especially because of the costumes by Theresa Ham. I particularly liked the Lumiere costume which lit up just like a candle and anytime he blew on one of his arms the lights actually went out. I also liked the Cogsworth costume because his mustache actually looked like the hands of a clock, one was short and one was long. My sister's favorite costume was the yellow Belle costume, but she also loved all the dresses Belle wore.

My favorite character was definitely Lumiere played by Jackson Evans because he had all the funny lines. The Beast played by Paul-Jordan Jansen made incredible sounds just like a monster whenever he was angry and it made me wonder how he made those sounds with his voice, because I'm trying and I can't do it.  Belle played by Beth Stafford Laird is the one person that made me forget I was watching a play because I could really feel her emotions throughout the play. I could tell she was really sad when her dad left and she was left alone in her room for the first time. I could also tell she was really laughing.

The best song of the whole show was definitely BE OUR GUEST.  I don't know how they made all the lights of the candles light up at the same time and the dancing napkins were so twirly. I kept wondering how Chips cart was moving. But the best part of all was the confetti cannon at the end of the song. But I was very disappointed that none of the confetti reached us because we were in the middle.

The props (designed by Jesse Gaffney) in this show were INCREDIBLE. I've been wondering how the Rose dropped its petals when no one was near it. And I also was wondering how the book opened at the beginning of the show. There was just SO MUCH MAGIC in this show. The Beast's transformation happened so fast at the end and I just wonder how it happened.

I think that everybody should see this play because it will show them the story that they all like but in real life AND with ACTUAL MAGIC Happening!

I give this play ONE GAZILLION points because it was so funny and beautiful and I have a lot of questions when I left which is the best part of going to theatre.

.

Love, Gunnar

to see FAMILY DRAMA: 2 Norwegian Plays at Akvavit Theatre

On Sunday I went with mama to see FAMILY DRAMA: 2 Norwegian Plays at Akvavit Theatre. And it was super mega funny. 

Christopher Donaldson, Daniel Stewart and Karla A Rennhofer in The Returning

C.Donaldson, Karla A. Rennhofer, Daniel Stewart in The Returning

The first play was called The Returning by Frederik Brattberg (translated by Henning Hegland) directed by Lee Peters and it was super funny because it was about a kid named Gustav (played by Daniel Stewart) who kept disappearing (or dying) and then returning, which at first brought his parents (played by Karla A. Rennhofer and Christopher Donaldson) a lot of sadness (when he was missing) and then joy (when he returned) but it keeps happening and the more it happens the less his parents seem to care about his return. One of the funniest parts is when Gustav is tossed on the floor and treated like a rug and it seems like his parents are more sad about someone else who has died, than they are about their own son who is dead on the floor. 

Jordan McGinnis, Madelyn Loehr and Samuel Pate in Goliath

Jordan McGinnis and Madelyn Loehr in Goliath

The second play was called Goliath by Maria Trytti Vennerød (translated by May-Brit Akerholt) directed by my mom, Kirstin Franklin. This play is about two brothers named David (Samuel Pate) and Goliath (Jordan McGinnis) (yes just like the bible story) who have come together again to celebrate their mom's fiftieth birthday and to celebrate the soon birth of a new sister named Anette (Madelyn Loehr) who is still  inside her mom's tummy, but also living outside at the party, confusing I know but FUNNY! The mother (Borgny, played by Kelly Levander) tells a story about when David was eight and Goliath was twelve and David defeated his brother and his big bully friends. But Goliath doesn't like the way the story has been told and told again and he is really angry and seeks revenge in a fight scene (choreographed by R&D choreography) that looks really cool and violent but is done only with rhythm and motion. Wait and see what they use for blood, it is pretty funny.  My favorite part is when David puts himself in an ambulance and makes himself the ambulance out of objects from the party and puts the siren on his chest and it sings the ice cream truck song. 

Kelly Levander and Samuel Pate in Goliath

Madelyn Loehr, Samuel Pate and Kelly Levander in Goliath

Both plays are similar because the parents in both stories struggle staying kind to their kids and eventually cause harm, even if it was or wasn't intended. These plays have dark humor because there is actually a lot of intended violence in these plays and it's okay if you find it funny, cause it really is funny. 

I really thought the set (designed by Milo Bue, built by Harrison Ornelas) was interesting because they had the same structure for both plays but things just moved around to create a whole different set with a different feel.  For example the chairs that were used for the dining table in The Returning were used as party chairs for Goliath.  And the counter and oven unit used for The Returning just turned around and the sink was removed and a white table cloth was placed over it and it became a party table and then later an ambulance, hospital bed and coffin for Goliath. My favorite costume (designed by Lily Walls) was the Mother in Goliath who was pregnant and she really looked pregnant but she wasn't.  Just wait til you see what was actually under her dress! I'll give you a hint it's not a ball.  I really liked what Tony Adams did with the lighting design. I wonder how he made it look purple sometimes and green and yellow at the same time. The music (designed by Timothy McNulty) was funny especially in Goliath when the party was happening and it was weird disco music and another song that roared like a lion and death metal and when mother told the story about David and Goliath there was this funny Egyptian music. 

But the most impressive design element had to be the props designed by Letitia Guillaud. There was a huge turkey that looked really real in The Returning and in Goliath there were lots of beautiful cakes and a kransekake (krahn-seh-cock-ah---that's a special Norwegian cake). There was also a "Happy Birthday" banner that flipped around for the funeral that said "Happy DeathDay." 

Kelly Levander and Samuel Pate in Goliath

My favorite character in The Returning was the Dad played by Christopher Donaldson because he kept forgetting things about his own son and he tried to turn his son's room into a gym. My favorite character in Goliath was Anette because she's an unborn kid she told funny poems and she made other people feed her ice cream and cake because she didn't know how to eat and she sometimes even ate her own hat. I also liked Goliath (McGinnis) because he and Anette did funny things together like putting cups on party hats and funny things like that. 

Samuel Pate, Kelly Levander and Jordan McGinnis in Goliath

I think that both of these plays were interesting because they both had a theme of family and make us think about how we sometimes can be mean to our own family members, and the truth of that is what makes both plays super funny. 

I think that probably anyone who speaks English and all of my friends should see this play because its super funny but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under the age of eight because they might be scared at the violence. I give these plays each INFINITY STARS because they are mega super amazingly awesomely funny.   

photos by Karl Clifton-Soderstrom 

to see The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963 at Chicago Children's Theatre

On Sunday I went to see the World Premiere of a play called The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis Adapted by Cheryl L. West, Directed by Wardell Julius Clark at the Chicago Children's Theatre, The Station. I went with mama and Margot. When we walked into the theatre it was really big and there were these big couches for us to sit on. The set, designed by Arnel Sancianco, was made up of a broken up/fake car that the actors moved with their feet and underneath the car was a large map that sloped up like a hill on the far wall, they used the sloped part for projections later in the play. There was also a big door for the houses and a couch on wheels.  I thought the set was really clever because it looked really hard to make and it helped tell the story of a road trip between two locations.

The play is based on a novel of the same name by Christopher Paul Curtis. It tells the story of a family named the Watsons who are from Flint, Michigan and their trip to Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. The family has five members, Daddy (Bear Bellinger), Mama (Sharriese Hamilton), Byron the oldest son (Stephen "Blu" Allen), Kenny (Jeremiah Ruwé on Sunday's performance) and Joey (Jillian-Giselle). At the beginning, Kenny is hiding under a couch and Byron is getting in trouble all the time. The family decides to take Byron to Birmingham to visit Grandma (Ti Nicole Danridge- on Sunday's performance) and help him be better.

I loved the use of the family car. They listened to records on the road trip thanks to a new record player and the family would sing along. The projections along the far wall helped us see the signs they would see along the way and as they got closer to Alabama the family seemed more scared. They seemed scared in the dark and they would sing songs.

Because the play takes place in 1963 it's important to know that Alabama was a segregated state and Michigan was not. When the family got to Alabama you could tell the family felt less comfortable because they kept seeing signs about segregation and met people who tried to scare them by saying "We don't like trouble-makers"

When they got to Grandma's house, the grandma told them about a boy who went swimming and got sucked up by a whirlpool and Kenny thought she said Wool Pooh and then Byron told a make-believe story about the Wool Pooh and said it was Winnie the Pooh's evil brother.  But Kenny didn't believe him until he was swimming and had a scary experience that brought more fear to his mind. Kenny thought he saw the Wool Pooh. This was a cool moment because they used a really big prop of fabric to represent the water and it made for an interesting stage picture. But you'll have to see the show to find out more.

I should also mention that this play is based around a Historical tragedy, the 16th Street Church bombing of 1963 which killed four innocent little girls and injured 17 more lives. There is a very sad moment in the play when this is mentioned. All of this was a part of the moment when blacks were fighting for rights to be treated like everyone else and it was the worst in the South because of the Ku Klux Klan. I think the Wool Pooh was meant to represent the Ku Klux Klan because they had the same badge and a similar hood/mask.

The actors were all very talented because they had strong voices and used their bodies and the space well. My favorite character was Byron, played by Stephen "Blu" Allen, because he was really funny when he kissed the car mirror and his lips were frozen. My favorite part was when the Dad (Bear Bellinger) said "put your hands out the window" of the car and Joey said "BUT I DON'T HAVE A WINDOW!" because she was in the middle of the back seat.

This play was really powerful because it taught me that the LOVE of a family tree has stronger roots than the Hate tree, as we hold each other up we are stronger together.  Hate has rotted roots with nothing to cling to.

I give this play FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND MILLION POINTS because it is a REALLY AWESOME PLAY and I think everyone in the whole wide dimension of the Universe should see it.

Love,
Gunnar

to see the World Inside Me at Chicago Children's Theatre

Last Saturday Margot, Daddy and I went to see The World Inside Me presented by Chicago Children's Theatre. It was a co-production presented by The Station and Spellbound Theatre. It was Directed by Lauren Jost who also Co-Created the show with Christine Dehne

The building where the play took place used to be a police station and it wasn't a normal theatre, there were seats but no stage. There were drawers next to a big screen where props were stored, these had ice packs and bandages and cells and body parts and things that the performers let the kids touch and feel and explore. There were videos of body parts playing that helped kids understand more about their bodies. The videos were talking about how our bodies digest, things I already knew but things little kids will learn a lot from.

The play mostly played out with songs sung by the actors WT McRae, Sarah Folkins, Melana Lloyd and one of the actor's Jono Waldman wrote the music and played guitar. My favorite part was when things that were supposed to be cells that looked like fidget spinners started falling out of the ceiling and we put them in different boxes that represented our Hands, Nose, and Mouth.

This play is for ages 2-5 so it was a little below my age and interests but my little sister Margot who is four was just right for this show. I could see that the toddlers and younger kids in the audience were having a lot of fun playing with a mirror ball that they pushed around on the floor. They talked a lot about blood and headaches and how to feel better. My sister Margot had so much fun.

I think ages 1-5 would really like this show because it was a fun and inventive way of teaching little kids more about their bodies in a short amount of time.